Step 2 of How to GYST — PURGE

Why do you need to purge? Can’t you just hang on to all those lovely tea-cosies and library books you never returned? Sure they’re not doing any harm, are they? And your great aunt Mary gave you that hat. And you never know when you might need those six extra screwdrivers…

Look, you’re fooling nobody but yourself. But I get it. I fool myself on a regular basis. I currently have about eleventy billion pens right beside me in my desk drawer. ‘Cause you never know when you’ll need a pen or two hundred, right? But you’ve gotta start somewhere. The pens that are in my desk are only about half what I originally started with, but one day I went around and gathered up all the pens I could find in the house, sat down, and went through every single one. The ones that weren’t working went straight to the bin and the rest went into a container. So, though the collection is quite large, at least I know that every pen works, and they’re all in one place.

See?

It wasn’t a big job, but it’s saved me a lot of frustration ever since. No more, “Have you got a pen?”, or “Where are all the pens?”, or “IS THERE A SINGLE FUCKING PEN IN THIS ENTIRE HOUSE THAT ACTUALLY WORKS?!”

Yup, it’s the little things.

I’m not saying you should start with pens. And I’m certainly not telling you to declutter everything all at once. But pick one small area that bugs you — maybe it’s the junk drawer, or your shoes, or the photo folder on your computer — and start weeding. We’re not going in-depth here (that’s for later), we’re just doing a quick sweep to get rid of things that are obviously useless or unloved, such as:

— shoes you never wear or that don’t fit (if you’re a woman, don’t start with shoes);
— photos that are duplicates, or are too dark or blurry to make out anything;
— out-of-date food;
— at least half those elastic bands and paper clips you’re hanging onto. (Just me?)

I’m sure I don’t need to explain how great it feels to finally be free of junk. If you’ve ever cleaned up after yourself in your life, you’ll understand the sense of achievement and relief, however small. (If you haven’t, send the site link to your mother… or your maid. Whichever’s applicable.)

We’re going for small, quick wins here. If you start too big and get drained and demoralised before finishing, you’ve no-one to blame but yourself. (Thought you were a right clever clogs, didn’t ya?)

To summarise:

1. Pick a SMALL area that bugs you and would benefit from a clear-out.
2. QUICKLY dump everything that is OBVIOUSLY unnecessary (no time here for thinking or second-guessing)
3. Kick back, relax, and bask in the warm glow of your work.

If you care to share, head on over to Facebook, Twitter, G+, or Instagram to post pics of your progress, using hashtag #H2GYSTpurge. (Bonus points if you’re brave enough to share your ‘before’.)

Done and dusted? Step 3 is where, on your stroll around the block, you encounter an angry dog.